EA Launches ‘Origin,’ Downloadable Games Service

Electronic Arts' Battlefield 3 will be available for download on its new Origin service.Image courtesy Electronic Arts

Game publisher Electronic Arts has launched a brand new digital platform that will allow customers to purchase and download its games online, it said Friday.

Called “Origin,” the online store will allow gamers to set up personal accounts and play both PC and mobile multiplayer games with one another. Much like Valve’s Steam service, EA’s new system will feature an in-game overlay and maintain customers’ individual game libraries that the publisher says will be accessible “from virtually anywhere.”

Games currently available for download on Origin include Crysis 2 and Darkspore. You can also pre-order upcoming titles like FIFA 12 and Mass Effect 3. EA also promises to offer “exclusive game content and trailers” on Origin in the near future.

While some have described this service as a competitor to Steam, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said they might be speaking too soon, telling Wired.com that he doesn’t think EA sees Steam as direct competition. A large part of Steam’s success has been its massive third-party support, which Pachter says EA won’t even try to emulate.

“I think they are trying to offer their own IP directly, and they have always done so,” Pachter said in an email. “The EA Store didn’t look at GameStop as competition, so the Origin site should not consider Steam competition.”

The new store only currently contains first-party games, or games that Electronic Arts publishes. EA has not said whether it will offer third-party or indie distribution on Origin in the future.

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